The Night Dev Hynes Came To Town

Blood Orange is one of my favorite artists of all time. So, naturally when he announced he was coming to Nashville on the second half of his tour I bought tickets almost immediately.

After I got through security and passed by the almost bare merch table (seriously, all the had left we’re bandannas and Negro Swan vinyls.) I secured my spot right behind the first row of people. While we all waited for the next hour I decided to people watch. Since I was at a Blood Orange show I expected a pretty diverse crowd. And I was right, so many beautiful people of different shades it was like one of those TV shows that force their diverse cast down your throat.

While I was scanning the room various Jay-Z songs were playing. From Watch The Throne to Blueprint 3. I was in heaven. I forgot to mention that Porches opened. I had no idea who he was before that night. During his set he tried his best to keep the energy and he was pretty successful. It was like seeing a freshman orientation leader speak to a class. He was a bit awkward, but nobody was an asshole so we rocked with him. He did his shit, usually when artists come to a smaller town they don’t try their hardest. But he did his thang.

After Porches’ set began the anxiety inducing wait for Dev to come up. After another hour the lights went out and Project Pat’s verse from Chewing Gum played. It set up this ominous aura in the Cannery Ballroom. Then this mf walk out and I fanned the fuck out. I never do that, but Dev has this aura of like being a larger than life figure to me, even though he’s like the coolest dude. EDIT: I’m continuting this post months after the show to clean out my drafts so I’m not gonna remember everything. I do remember though, that he started his set off with Saint and that was so fire. The whole crowd was singing along and we were all just having a great time. Dev ran through all of the hits Charcoal Baby, E.V.P (my fucking favorite), You’re Not Good Enough, and many more. Then, he played Augustine and it reminded me of why I don’t like that song. It’s so boring to me and I thought seeing it live would change my mind. Nope. Everything else was great though. Oh, when he performed Dagenham Dream I almost started crying. I love that fucking song, and to add on to it the lights would flash red and blue in time with the drums. Hearing Dev’s vocals live was a bit too much for me man I had to close my eyes and really take it all in.

Overall, this was one of the best nights of my life. I got to see one of my favorite artists of all time and didn’t have to worry about the crowd being full of assholes pushing me the whole time.